Eye to Eye
by HCHawke
Summary: Dawn's life was perfect. Great job, a decent boyfriend, Pokémon who loved her, and her reputation as a Top Coordinator. Until something unexpected blindsides her. Now, heartbroken and paired with an old friend's rival, can she manage to put her life back into perspective? IkariShipping, Anti-PenguinShipping.


_/slinks in._

So. I found some inspiration to write, given my extremely busy schedule, and once the idea popped into my head, it just kinda rolled until I created this. I'm not entirely sure how it came out, but I've always had this particular idea, so I figured I would finally get it posted. Hopefully you all enjoy it! Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

**EDIT: **I added my usual line breaks. Remembered about them as I lay in bed last night, and slammed my head into my bed when I remembered I forgot them. Sorry about that, all.

* * *

"Come on, Dee Dee, you're overreacting!"

The apartment door flew open, and a pretty blunette teen stormed out wearing a pink turtleneck sweater, blue jeans, and a livid expression. As she stomped her way out of the building, she fought back tears of anger and sadness.

'_How could he do this to me?'_ she thought to herself as she made her way along the Hearthome City streets towards the Pokémon Center.

Dawn Berlitz had been dating Kenny Kengo for several years now, ever since the two competed in the Kanto Grand Festival. Deciding that she was content with her two Festival wins, and to make sure competition wouldn't tear the pair apart, Dawn contacted Pokémon Stylist Paris and managed to convince her to give Dawn a job. Kenny had continued competing for a year, earning his first Festival win, and decided to rent an apartment there in Hearthome City.

The two had taken things slow, seeing as Dawn didn't want to rush into anything. And despite all of Dawn's work which caused her to travel for the most part, she felt things were good between them. Until she had managed to arrive back in Hearthome a day earlier than she expected, only to find her boyfriend locking lips with her former rival, Ursula Urara.

Turning the corner in the familiar city towards the Pokémon Center, she was still running through it all in her head. '_I can't believe it. And with _Ursula _of all people! After everything we went through...'_

Lost in her thoughts and despair, Dawn ended up running squarely into someone, causing her to fall backwards. Closing her eyes and expecting the impact, she was pleasantly surprised to realize someone had a hold of her arm, keeping her from hitting the ground.

"You always have to be this Troublesome?" a voice asked, a voice she recognized. As her eyes snapped open, she found herself looking at the onyx eyes and mauve hair of one Paul Shinji. That was the last straw that Dawn could take.

Regaining her balance, she balled her hands into fists and screamed, "My name is DAWN! D-A-W-N! It's not that hard!" Ignoring the odd looks she was currently receiving, she continued to glare at Paul, only to have him look blankly back at her.

"Right," he muttered after a moment, shoving his hands into his pockets and walking around her, continuing on his way, leaving Dawn to glare at the back of his head.

"Ugh… Of course, today of all days, I had to run into Paul…" Dawn complained as she began her own trip again, eventually reaching the Pokémon Center. She was about to head to her room to likely cry herself to sleep when Nurse Joy interrupted her.

"Ah, miss Berlitz! You have a video call waiting for you, dear," she told Dawn.

Dawn nodded in thanks and decided to see who it was, not really in the mood for talking. '_Probably Kenny… If it is, I'll just hang up,'_ she decided. But as she sat down in the chair and took the call off hold, she was pleasantly surprised. "Mom?"

Appearing on the video screen was Johanna Berlitz, Top Coordinator and the best mother Dawn could wish for. Running a hand through her midnight blue hair, the older woman had a look of concern on her face. "Hey kiddo, you alright?"

Despite everything, Dawn gave her a sad smile. "How'd you know?" she asked.

Johanna returned the sad smile. "Mother's intuition. I just had a feeling you needed a call. So, what happened?" she asked, settling in to offer a virtual shoulder for her daughter to cry on.

That's when Dawn finally began letting tears fall. "I got home a day early, only to find Kenny cheating on me. With _Ursula_ of all people! _Then_, as if that weren't enough, I had to run into Paul Shinji. Literally. I just… Kenny and I were going to compete in the Tag Battle tomorrow, too. Now, I never want to see his face again. I… I think I want to come back home for a while."

Johanna nodded, letting her daughter vent with a kind smile. "Dawn, as I recall, this isn't the first time you've been depressed in Hearthome City, is it?"

Sighing, Dawn thought about it for a minute, trying to figure out what her mom was referring to. Eventually she gave up. "I don't know, is it?"

Johanna smiled. "As I recall, you and your friends competed in the Hearthome City Tag Battle competition before, when you were depressed about a loss. It did cheer you up, too. Might as well give it a shot," she told her daughter patiently.

Dawn frowned. "I don't think it'll help much this time. At least back then, I had friends to rely on. Now…" she trailed off, wiping her eyes as best she could.

Her mom nodded in understanding. "You still have your Pokémon, honey. My suggestion stands. I think it will do you good."

Dawn gave her mom a small smile. "More of that 'mother's intuition'?" she asked.

Johanna nodded. "Now, go get some rest. The competition begins tomorrow, and I'll be cheering you on while I watch it on TV."

Dawn nodded, wiping away the last of her tears, giving her mom an actual smile. "No need to worry," she replied, feeling a bit of her confidence flow back.

* * *

"It's Battle time! Ladies and gentlemen! It is my esteemed honor to welcome you all to the fiftieth annual Hearthome City Tag Battle competition! I'm your host for the festivities, Mayor of Hearthome City, Enta!"

Dawn found herself smiling slightly as she looked around the crowded arena, the old rush of impending battle returning. She didn't see anyone she recognized in the crowd, but that could change, of course.

"Alright, each of our sixty-four competitors have a number unique to them on their registration card. The board behind me will show each number paired with another. That will be your tag partner for the competition. You'll have a few minutes to find your partner before we display their portraits. And, without further ado, let's see the who gets paired with who!"

At Enta's introduction, the massive score board that dominated a section of the area lit up, showing the sixty-four numbers in random order. Dawn quickly looked up and spotted her own. '_Alright, twenty-three. I'm paired with sixty-two.'_

With that in mind, she began looking around the stadium for sixty-two, wondering who she had been paired with. '_If I'm stuck with Conway again...'_ she thought to herself dejectedly.

But no, she didn't see the teal-haired creeper around, much to her relief. As the minutes ticked by, she continued wandering around, searching for her partner.

"Arceus hates when I compete in this competition..."

Dawn stiffened, turning around. There, in a deep purple hoodie and charcoal-colored cargo pants, was Paul Shinji. And in his hand was his registration card, with the number sixty-two.

"You're my partner?" Dawn sputtered, wondering if Arceus had it out for her, too.

"Apparently," he replied dryly, crushing the card in his hand.

Dawn felt her mood sink. '_Great. Stuck with Paul. Like we'd ever see eye to eye. Now I know how Ash felt. Well, at least we might win… assuming he and I don't argue through most of the competition like he and Ash did. Somehow I doubt this will help...'_

"Just make sure you're ready for this. Only reason I entered this was to get in some training for my weaker Pokémon," he replied.

She thought he continued, but his words were mumbled after that. Sighing, Dawn nodded. "I wouldn't expect less from you, _Paul_," she shot back, clearly not in the mood to deal with the mauve-haired trainer. Turning away from Paul, however, she saw something she wished she hadn't.

Standing at the far end of the stadium was Kenny, speaking with his tag partner by the looks of it. And next to the pair was Ursula, pink hair, white blouse, and blue dress, as always. They hadn't noticed her yet, thankfully, but she couldn't help but glare at the group for a while, until she felt someone poking her shoulder. "Huh?" she asked, turning around.

Paul simply stood there with a raised eyebrow. "I said we should probably practice, so I have some idea of how to use your contest abilities," he told her, annoyed. "You're out of it today," he added.

Dawn stomped her foot on the ground, her expression furious. "Well, _sorry_ for having feelings like a regular human being! Let's see how you'd do if your ex was cheating on you! Oh, wait, you probably would never _have_ a girlfriend, you unfeeling jerk!" Dawn spat as she glared venomously at her tag partner.

Paul, for the most part, frowned, eyes narrowing as he took a look at who she was staring at. He blinked in confusion. "Don't tell me one of those idiots over there is your ex…" he stated quietly.

Still glaring at him, she nodded. "The one with red hair. Before I caught him cheating on me with that little…"

"Ursula?" he asked, surprising her slightly.

"Yeah. How'd you know?" Dawn asked curiously.

His expression turned intense as he pulled his hood up. "I'll be right back," he stated simply, walking away with a definite change in his mood.

"Where are you going?" she called as she chased after him, partially not expecting an answer.

"To switch my team out," he replied as he headed towards the Pokémon Center in the stadium. "We've got until this afternoon to train."

"Why are you switching out, though? I thought you wanted to train some of your weaker Pokémon?" she asked, confused at his change of heart.

He stopped and looked at her, onyx eyes on midnight sapphire. "I'm guessing you want to crush your ex into the dirt?" he asked with a frown.

After a moment of thought, she nodded. "After yesterday? Yes."

She saw his frown turn into a predatory smirk beneath his hood. "Good. Let's get training."

* * *

"And in the D Block for today, we have Dawn and Paul versus Carter and Johnson!"

On either side of the battlefield stood a pair of trainers. On the blue side stood Dawn and Paul, the former looking slightly nervous while the latter simply looked bored with the matchup. On the red side, a young teen boy stood next to an older man, both looking ready to battle.

"Trainers, begin!"

Dawn watched as the two opponents tossed out their Pokémon.

"Alright, Loudred, let's do this!" the teen shouted as he sent out his Big Voice Pokémon. Carter, Dawn thought.

"Swellow, lend me your assistance!" the older one, Johnson, shouted, sending out his Swallow Pokémon alongside his partner's Loudred.

Paul simply smirked. "Ursaring, standby for battle!" he shouted as he tossed his Poké Ball out, revealing his towering Hibernator Pokémon.

"Togekiss, spotlight!" Dawn shouted as she tossed out her Jubilee Pokémon. One Flying-Type and at least one Normal-type per team. Dawn was happy.

"Loudred, use Hyper Voice!"

"Swellow, Brave Bird!"

Paul growled beneath his breath. "Slash!" he ordered as Swellow charged in towards his Ursaring.

"Togekiss, break that Hyper Voice with Aura Sphere!" Dawn commanded.

Loudred's sonic attack was already flying towards Ursaring by the time the Aura Sphere hit it, causing it to shatter and fade, much to Carter's annoyance. Meanwhile, Swellow continued flying towards Ursaring, only for the bear to use it's longer reach to slash the Pokémon, launching it backwards with a critical hit.

"Alright!" Dawn cheered.

"We're not done yet," Paul retorted. "Ursaring, Bulk Up and use Hammer Arm on Loudred!" he shouted, deciding to go on the offensive.

"Loudred, counter with Fire Punch!" Carter shouted, making Dawn worry.

"Togekiss, let's protect us from status moves with Safegua-"

"No!" Paul shouted, cutting her off mid command.

"Why not?" she asked, annoyed at having her orders questioned.

"Think about my Ursaring for a minute. Now go attack Swellow," he spat out, annoyed at having to point out the obvious.

She was about to argue back when she remembered the battle at Lake Acuity. '_That's right, Ursaring's ability is Guts. He get's stronger if he get's burned.'_

While it wasn't something Ash would intentionally do, letting a Pokémon get a status effect on them, Paul fought a lot differently from Ash. Well, if he could fight to win, so could Dawn.

"Togekiss, finish Swellow with Sky Attack!" As the Jubilee Pokémon began powering up the attack, Ursaring charged across the field, surrounded by the crimson aura of Bulk Up.

"Don't let that big bear take you out, Loudred! Fire and Thunder Punch, go!" Carter shouted.

"Swellow, get up and use Endeavor on Togekiss!" Johnson shouted.

The crowd went wild as Ursaring and Loudred finally met, battering each other with hit after hit. Swellow also managed to get up and took to the skies, flying towards Togekiss while covered in white energy.

As Ursaring was sent backwards by a particularly harsh Fire Punch, the Hibernator Pokémon burst into flames. To top it off, the two Flying-types clashed, and even with the massive blow against Swellow, Johnson had turned the battle in his favor with Endeavor, causing Togekiss's strength to drop, matching that of the battered Swellow.

It appeared to the crowd that things would soon go in the red team's favor. Up until Ursaring's eyes began glowing red. "Ursaring, end this! Facade on Loudred!" Paul shouted.

Dawn grinned, enjoying the rush of battle. "Togekiss, Aura Sphere!" she commanded. '_Let's see Swellow dodge this,'_ she thought to herself.

Before their opponents could react, Togekiss fired off it's Aura Sphere and Ursaring closed the distance, both attacks launching their targets. As Swellow and Loudred hit the ground, landing in a heap, the referee made the call.

"Swellow and Loudred are unable to battle! Dawn and Paul move on to the next round!"

"Yes! We did it, Paul!" Dawn cheered.

Paul, for his part, simply returned Ursaring. "Hn," he replied gruffly, but Dawn could have sworn she saw the barest hint of a smile on his grim face. Maybe they could see eye to eye.

* * *

"And Snorlax is down! Paul and Dawn move on to the next round!"

Dawn smiled as she watched the massive Sleeping Pokémon fall facedown into the sand, signifying that her and Paul were now in the Top Eight.

She was excited, she couldn't lie. Fighting alongside Paul was very different from fighting next to Ash or Kenny. For one, Paul was a lot less forgiving, and while she found his criticism harsh, she refused to back down from a challenge.

And while, when they were kids, she felt his methods were too brutal, his style seemed to have changed a bit. He thanked his Pokémon for their fighting, and he hadn't called her or her Pokémon pathetic yet. So that was something. She was still expecting him to be his general rude self, though.

"We at Hearthome City would like to thank all the trainers who came out today and battled their hardest. To the Eight teams moving on to tomorrow's round, good luck and enjoy your evening!" Enta announced from his podium.

With that, most of the pairs went about their business, either talking strategy for tomorrow's rounds, getting dinner, and various other topics.

"So Paul, you have a room at the Pokémon Center?" Dawn asked, turning to her partner, who had been surprisingly quiet since their victory.

"No. I'm probably going to train outside of town and just sleep out there, like I did during the last time I competed," he replied.

Glancing up at the sky, Dawn noticed that the clouds were beginning to get darker, likely signifying an incoming rainstorm.

"Those clouds don't exactly look good, Paul. You sure you want to spend the night in the rain?" she asked. '_Sure, he's still Paul, but he _did _get me into the Top Eight. Couldn't hurt to offer.'_

"I doubt the Pokémon Center has any rooms, with the competition in town going on," he replied as he headed to grab his backpack.

"My room has a couch," she replied before she could think to stop herself.

As she snapped her mouth shut, she saw Paul freeze and slowly turn around to face her. After a moment of staring at her, he finally opened his mouth. "Why?"

She blinked, not understanding the question. "Uh… Because whoever designed the room decided to put a couch in it?" she replied.

He grimaced. "No, why are you offering?" he clarified, slightly annoyed.

"Oh… I don't really know, to be honest. I just figured that, if we're going to be tag partners, the least I could do is make sure you don't spend the night in the rain," she replied, scratching the back of her head sheepishly, wondering at her own logic.

After a long moment, Paul finally nodded. "Fine. I'll meet you at the Center later," he told her as he headed towards the stadium exit.

Dawn sighed as she watched him go. '_I guess he hasn't really changed. Still, I really hope it's not pouring out by the time he head to the Pokémon Center.'_

* * *

"You did great, Dawn. Only sixteen people out of sixty-four made it. You should be proud."

Dawn smiled at the videophone. "Thanks, mom. I'm still a bit nervous, though," the blunette confessed, fidgeting with her fingers. "I mean, Paul's a really strong trainer, I'm just worried about how well we'll battle together. The last time he competed, he and Ash did nothing but fight the whole time."

Johanna smiled. "As I recall, those two won regardless of their fighting. And I also believe that you're not Ash. Ash was a great boy, but he and Paul just didn't see eye to eye. That doesn't mean you can't."

Dawn frowned, blinking. "What do you mean?" she asked curiously.

"How'd you describe it? 'Two sides of the same coin'?" Johanna asked.

When Dawn nodded, she continued. "Ash and Paul just had personalities that clashed. They both wanted the same thing, but they took different routes to that end goal, and because of it, it made them rivals. I'm not condoning how Paul acted, but in all your time traveling with Ash, did you ever stop and wonder why Paul acted the way he did?"

Dawn's frown deepened as she thought about it. "Once," she replied after a moment. Looking back to the screen, showing the face of her curious mother, she continued. "During the Lily of the Valley Conference. I accidently eavesdropped his conversation with his brother, and we got to talking. He mentioned he didn't care for Ash because… Because he reminding him of his brother, Reggie," she finished after some thought.

Johanna nodded as her daughter explained. "Then it's likely that Paul and Reggie were at odds, and because Ash reminded him of Reggie, that compounded things. I'm sure he has a reason for his actions," she concluded.

Dawn leaned back in the Pokémon Center chair, thinking about her mother's words.

"I hate to run, sweetie, but I've got to finish making dinner for Barry and your step father. I'll call you tomorrow after you make it into the Finals, alright?" her mom asked with a large, caring smile.

Dawn smiled and nodded. "Alright mom. Say hi to Palmer and Barry for me. I'll talk to you tomorrow. And thanks," she replied.

Johanna simply nodded. "Of course. Now, go get some food and rest. We'll be cheering you on tomorrow," she told her daughter as she finally hung up, leaving Dawn with her thoughts.

She was finally interrupted from them by the sound of thunder outside the Pokémon Center, causing her to jump slightly. Glancing out the window, she saw that it was now raining fairly hard, and her first thoughts jumped to Paul. '_I wonder if he made it back to town alright...'_

As if on cue, the Pokémon Center's doors opened, admitting a thoroughly soaked Paul Shinji. As he walked in, shaking the excess rain off his hoodie and out of his hair, he spotted her staring at him and he nodded to her as he went to where Nurse Joy was stationed.

Shrugging to herself and deciding to put food before intense thinking sessions, she got up and headed towards the Center's cafeteria. Grabbing a salad, orange soda, and a bag of potato chips, she finally found an empty table, with the majority of them being taken by competitors staying at the Center.

She was halfway through her salad when she saw a sandwich and a grape soda can slide onto her table. Looking up, she saw Paul sitting down across from her, not dripping anymore, but still damp.

"How'd training go?" Dawn asked as she poked at her salad, deciding to at least try to make conversation.

"Fine," he replied as he began eating his sandwich, simple ham and cheese. "Who do you plan to use for tomorrow's fights?" he asked in between bites.

"I was thinking of putting Typhlosion and Pachirisu in, and using Piplup for the finals," she replied as she speared a tomato slice and munched away at it.

"Hn," he responded, taking another bite of his sandwich.

"Which were you planning to use?" She asked.

"Haven't decided yet. According to the blocks, if your ex is any good, we'll be fighting him and his tag partner in the finals. For that, likely Electivire. Tomorrow, no idea," he explained as he cracked open his soda.

Dawn frowned, slightly pained at the mention of Kenny. "Can I ask you something?"

"You just did," he replied dryly as he tossed the last bit of sandwich into his mouth.

Dawn sighed. "I guess I set myself up for that one," she said glumly. "Why exactly do you want to crush Kenny so badly?"

She saw him place his soda can back on the table and lean back in his chair, his expression unreadable. "Suffice to say our goals align. You want him crushed, I want to make that happen," he replied.

"But why, exactly?" she prodded, curious as to why he was going out of his way to help her. That wasn't the Paul she knew.

He sighed, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. "You're not going to let this go, are you?" he asked defeatedly.

She thought for a moment. "I'm curious, but if you don't want to talk about it, I guess I have to accept that. I'm sorry I pried," she said as she opened her bag of potato chips, offering him a few.

He opened his eyes and looked at her oddly. "It's not like you to give up so easily, Troublesome," he replied as he accepted a few of the chips, popping one into his mouth.

Dawn frowned and narrowed her eyes at the 'troublesome' comment, but let it slide for the time being. "So, any idea who we're facing tomorrow?" she asked instead.

"Pair of young trainers. Twins, I think," he replied. "After that, it's a toss up. Both possible pairs are fairly experienced, but we should be fine if we fight smart. After that are the finals, with four possible teams to fight."

"Yeah, and one pair including Kenny," Dawn said dejectedly.

Paul was silent for a moment. "You going to be okay?" he asked, thoroughly surprising the girl.

It took her a moment to actually process the question. '_He's actually asking me if I'll be okay going against my ex boyfriend of two years, only a few days after I broke up with him for cheating on me?'_ Closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths, she nodded slightly.

"I… I think so," she replied, slightly shakily. "I knew I might have to battle him if I entered."

He stares at her for a moment before nodding. "Alright. Not sure about you, but I'd like to get some sleep for tomorrow. Let's see this couch, shall we?" he asked as he stood up, grabbing the empty cans, her salad bowl, the wrapper to his sandwich and the chip bag, moving to dispose of them.

'_That's… odd. I wasn't expecting him to do that,'_ Dawn thought to herself. Even after her conversation with him, she still knew so little about him. All she had were more questions.

* * *

"Welcome back to day two of the fiftieth annual Hearthome City Tag Battle competition!"

As Dawn followed Paul into the arena, amidst the cheers of the crowd, she couldn't help but feel the electricity in the atmosphere, the thrill of a major competition. Granted, it was no Grand Festival or regional tournament, but it was something.

"Let's start things off with a bang! On the blue side, we have Paul and Dawn! On the red side, Kate and Kale!"

Staring across the field, Dawn saw her opponents, a pair of green-haired twins, brother and sister.

"Heliolisk! Let's do this!" Kale shouted as he hurled out his Poké Ball, revealing a large yellow and black lizard.

"Sliggoo! Play time!" Kate shouted as she released her own Pokémon, a light purple, snail-like dragon with green eyes.

"Pachirisu, spotlight!" Dawn called out as she released her EleSquirrel Pokémon, an excited little blue and white squirrel-like Pokémon.

"Nidoking, standby for battle!" With a flick of his wrist, Paul launched his own Poké Ball, revealing a large, purple monster with a thick tail and horns going from it's head down it's back. It's body looked to be covered in heavy armor plates.

When all of the Pokémon had been sent out, the referee hoisted his flags. "Begin!"

Wasting no time, Paul was quick to call out his first move. "Nidoking, Earth Power!"

"Pachirisu, Discharge!" Dawn called.

"Sliggoo, use Dragon Pulse!" Kate shouted, followed closely by "Heliolisk, Charge Beam!"

As the attacks went out, Dawn's mind began racing, planning out her strategy. '_Heliolisk is an Electric-type, and Sliggoo is a Dragon-type. Because Nidoking's a Ground-type, Discharge won't have any effect on it, but it won't be that effective against their Pokémon either.'_

"Nidoking, Ice Punch, go!" Paul shouted as the electricity, dragon, and earth energy all impacted in the center. Charging straight through the electric before the opposing team could so much as mount a defensive, Nidoking slammed Sliggoo dead in the chest with it's ice covered fist, launching it backwards.

"No, Sliggoo!" Kate cried out, worried for her Soft Tissue Pokémon.

"Heliolisk, let's show them not to mess with Kate and Sliggoo! Use Surf!"

'_WHAT?'_ Dawn thought to herself as she saw the Generator Pokémon rise up on a massive wave of water, charging towards their Pokémon. '_Pachirisu will only take a bit of damage, but Nidoking, that's a super effective matchup...'_

"Pachirisu, use Super Fang on the wave!" she commanded, remembering how Ash had Pikachu use Iron Tail to do something similar.

"Nidoking, follow up with Double Kick!" Paul shouted as he watched the EleSquirrel form into a buzzsaw of teeth, cutting the wave in half and leaving Heliolisk falling towards the waiting Nidoking. The following kicks hurled it across the field straight into the ground.

"Heliolisk is unable to battle!"

"Wow. Those kicks didn't look that strong," Dawn commented.

"That's because it wasn't," Paul replied. "Your Super Fang managed to cut his remaining strength in half, and Heliolisk is an Electric/Normal-type Pokémon. Double Kick was super effective," he explained, his eyes never leaving the battlefield.

As Sliggoo struggled back towards the center of the arena, Kate called for her next attack. "Sliggoo, use Draco Meteor!"

"Uh oh…" Dawn said, recalling the devastation that Ash's Gible was capable of with that attack.

"Nidoking, Ice Punch!" Paul shouted, causing the Drill Pokémon to charge straight into the raining draco projectiles, shrugging them off as his fist connected with the Soft Tissue Pokémon for a second time, this time knocking it out.

"Sliggoo is unable to battle! Dawn and Paul move on to the semi-finals!"

* * *

"Typhlosion is unable to battle!"

"Dang it. Sorry Paul," Dawn apologized as she returned her powerful Volcano Pokémon. '_At least we managed to take one of our opponents out,'_ she thought to herself.

Looking back at the battlefield, she saw Paul's Drapion glaring vehemently at the Seismitoad standing on the far end of the field.

"Hn," he replied, annoyed at the fact he was looking at a serious type disadvantage, and the fact Drapion had taken a lot of damage earlier in their match.

"Give it up! Your Drapion has no chance against my Seismitoad. Just give it up so we can go to the finals!" their opponent called out, an annoying blond boy from Unova who enjoyed photographing the battle with a small green camera.

But Paul just smirked. "Drapion, Pin Missile!" he called, and the Ogre Scorpion complied, firing off a series of Bug-type projectiles towards his opponent.

"Seismitoad, use Mud Bomb!" his opponent shouted.

As the two attacks connected and detonated over the battlefield, creating a massive cloud of smoke and dust, Paul then sent out his next command. "Cross Poison into Iron Tail!"

"Block with Rock Tomb, then finish it with Earthquake!" came the retort.

As the attacks left thundering sounds and shockwaves inside the smoke cloud, Seismitoad was hurled out of the smoke cloud, narrowly missing it's trainer as he was flung into the stadium wall, out cold.

"Seismitoad is unable to battle! Paul and Dawn advance to the finals!"

Their opponents bowed their heads gracefully, with the blond Unovan taking several pictures of the battlefield and his opponents before leaving.

Dawn smiled at Paul. "Great work," she told him, not expecting a reply. To her surprise, he gave a small smile. It lasted only a second, but it was there.

As the pair watched the rest of the battles in the other blocks, her fears and slight hope was confirmed. Kenny had made it into the finals with his tag partner, a large boy with orange hair styled similarly to Misty Waterflower.

"Kenny and Morrison, then," Paul said quietly as the pair watched the last battle for the day, deciding their opponents in the finals. Glancing over, he asked, "You going to be good?"

After a moment, she nodded. "Tomorrow, we're going to crush Kenny and Morrison into the ground," she replied, and received a smirk from her tag partner.

* * *

"Trust me, Dawn, Barry has been going on and on about how amazing your battles with Paul are," Johanna told her daughter over the video phone later that night. "He also wants you to get Paul's autograph for him before you come home."

Dawn sighed good naturedly, shaking her head. "He's been like this since I traveled with Ash," she replied.

"Well, he hasn't mellowed with age," Johanna told her. "So, how're you doing? Ready for tomorrow?" she asked cautiously.

Dawn thought for a moment before nodding slightly. "I think so. Paul and I have been going over strategy, and we think we've got a pretty good idea of what we're going up against. As for it being Kenny…" she trailed off, closing her midnight blue eyes. When she opened them back up, her mother saw a determination that she hadn't seen since Dawn gave up active competition. "He broke my trust and my heart. So getting to crush him in the finals… I plan to enjoy this."

Johanna thought about it for a while before nodding. "Alright, kiddo. We'll be watching here at home, cheering you on. Now, go get some rest and show that little brat what happens when you cross a Berlitz," she encouraged her daughter.

Dawn smiled. "No need to worry, mom. I'll call you when Paul and I win tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Night Dawn," Johanna replied as she closed the call, leaving Dawn to her thoughts.

Looking at her Pokétch, she saw it was nearly ten. Deciding she wanted to get an early night, she headed off towards her room, which she was sharing with Paul again.

Shortly thereafter, she opened her door to see Paul standing by the window overlooking the stadium.

"I thought you'd be asleep by now," she told him and she went to her bag to get her pajamas.

Paul glanced back. "Sleep's a bit hard, tonight," he replied as he looked back out the window, toying with something in his hand.

Curiosity getting the better of her, she decided to peek over his shoulder at what he was playing with. A small golden locket.

As the possibilities of it danced in her mind, she forgot the fact that she was right over Paul's shoulder, and jumped slightly when his head turned to stare at her.

"Can I help you?" he asked sarcastically as the girl wheeled back, face red from embarrassment.

"Uh… Sorry. I'm just nosey by nature, I guess," she replied sheepishly, scratching the back of her head.

He stared at her for a moment before tossing the locket towards her. "Knock yourself out," he replied sourly as he turned his view back to the window.

Catching the locket, she thought about declining and handing it back, but her curiosity got the better of her yet again. Opening it, she saw a small inscription on the locket.

_From PS, to UU_

'_PS? Probably Paul Shinji, though I can't imagine why he'd buy something like this. UU? Who do I know with those initials?'_

After a moment of thought, the answer came to her. '_Ursula Urura.'_ Dropping the locket in shock, she finally realized why Paul was so dead set on helping her.

Memories of her first conversation with Paul at the start of the tournament popped into her head. '_Well, _sorry _for having feelings like a regular human being! Let's see how you'd do if your ex was cheating on you! Oh, wait, you probably would never _have _a girlfriend, you unfeeling jerk!'_

"Paul…" she said, feeling rather ashamed of her actions. "I didn't realize."

"Of course you didn't," he replied, still staring out the window. "I'm going to strangle Reggie when I get home," he added.

"Wait, why Reggie?" Dawn asked before she could stop herself. She was expecting him to blow up, but was surprised when he turned back to her and sighed.

"Because the majority of this is his fault," he explained. "Reggie's had a crush on Ursula's sister, Maylene, for years now. But, in order to impress her, he blackmailed me into going on a double date with them and her younger sister, Ursula. I was training at home at the time for the Lily of the Valley Conference, so I was sort of stuck. So I did it, just to shut him up. I figured at least it takes out the whole 'asking the girl out' bit."

Dawn slowly nodded as she listened to his tale, remaining silent as she heard Paul Shinji string more words together than she'd ever heard in her life.

"Things went decently, and she wanted to keep seeing me, so I figured why not. I wasn't going anywhere for a while. Next thing I know, about a week ago, she starts going on and on about wanting to travel to Kanto to compete in the Grand Festival, claiming that 'if I loved her, I'd do it'. We had a fight, and she stormed out. So I bought her that to apologize," he continues, motioning to the dropped locket.

"I go to give it to her the next day and find her with your ex, making plans to go to Kanto. Heard them laughing about how pathetic his girlfriend was and how idiotic I was for not realizing I was being two timed."

Dawn felt her chest begin to ache as Kenny entered the story, remembering all too vividly how his actions made her feel.

"So, that's why I want to stomp him into the ground tomorrow. The only reason I'm here and not back in Veilstone training was because Reggie thought it would be such a _great_ idea to go somewheres else to get my mind off things," Paul finished, annoyed and sarcastically.

Dawn sighed. "Paul, I'm really sorry about all those things I said back when we found out we were tag partners," she apologized, but he only shook his head.

"Forget it. I was pissed when I saw them, too. All that matters now is grinding him into dust and moving on with my life," he told her, shaking his head. "Reggie is going to regret dragging me into all of this," he added.

"I'd like to ask you something," Dawn said after a moment, avoiding the wording trap she had fallen into earlier. When Paul nodded, she continued. "Back at the Conference all those years ago, you said Ash reminded you of Reggie. What did you mean?" she asked.

Paul sighed again. "Growing up, Reggie was always so focused on his gym battles, or the Battle Frontier. He never really called home to talk, or even keep in touch with his friends. All he cared about were his Pokémon and his goals. It annoyed me growing up, I looked up to him, you know? And then when he gave it all up after fighting Brandon, that was the last straw. I took my Turtwig and I went on my own journey. I wanted to prove that I could succeed where he failed. Even if it was just to myself, I wanted to prove that you don't need to baby your Pokémon to the exclusion of everything else just to succeed."

Dawn frowned. "By being cruel to your Pokémon?" she asked, recalling how harsh and brutal his training methods were back in the day.

"Ash treated his Pokémon like children. I treat mine like people. I'm just not a people person," he explained, taking a seat on the couch. "I push my Pokémon hard because I want them to excel. For example, if I called you pathetic and claimed you couldn't win a gym battle if your pretty little life depended on it, what would you do," he asked.

She glared at him for a moment before answering. "I would do it and prove you wrong," she replied, slightly annoyed.

"Exactly. By implying something is too difficult for someone, more often than not, they try to prove you wrong. By pushing my Pokémon hard, they want to push themselves harder to prove me wrong. If I feel a Pokémon can't handle that, I release them. Saves us both the trouble."

"Like Azumarill and Chimchar?" Dawn asked, trying to keep the hostility from her voice.

"Azumarill was better off with the boy I left it with than with me. Chimchar… That was a calculated risk," he replied vaguely. "Chimchar wanted to become stronger, and I knew it had the potential. The problem was unlocking it. So I tried everything I could think of. Eventually, I decided to push it to an extreme. I released it, hoping it would work to grow stronger on it's own and prove me wrong. Ash royally screwed my plan up, but, in the end, Chimchar did unlock it's true potential. So I chalk that up to Ash being a better fit," he explained.

Dawn thought it over for a while. "That still doesn't explain why you were so cruel to Ash," she retorted.

"Ash was a lot like my brother. Babying his Pokémon and likely ignoring his friends. Let me ask you something; when was the last time Ash contacted you?" he asked.

Dawn opened her mouth to defend her friend, but closed it again when she realized the last time she had spoken to the boy was Unova, several years ago. And that was her idea. Sighing, she nodded. "It's been a while," she replied uneasily.

"Pokémon are that boy's entire world. Just like Reggie. In the end, I wanted to push him, too. Partly because he reminded me of Reggie, and partly because I knew that his training style was different from mine. I wanted to see how he would respond to the same thing, being pushed hard. And he pushed back, at the Conference. In the end, it's irrelevant. Ash and Reggie are very similar. I'm not. It's like Water-types with an Electric-type. Our personalities don't work well together."

'_What he's saying makes a lot of sense, when I think about it. I always took Ash's side when it came to Paul. I never stopped to get both sides of the argument,'_ Dawn thought to herself.

"I guess I never really thought about it all that way," she confessed.

Paul simply nodded. "I've never been good with people. So they just assume I'm some sort of monster, out to beat my Pokémon and ruin their lives. I just do things my way. Ash was the one who constantly tried to get in my way, preaching on how my way was wrong, constantly inserting himself in my affairs. So, I just pushed him too. I never really doubted his abilities, I just hated the fact that he was a carbon copy of Reggie."

Dawn continued pondering what Paul was saying, and it made a surprising amount of sense. Ash really was obsessed with his Pokémon. How had Iris put it, back in Unova? '_Such a little kid. Yeah, that's it, he's never really grown up, has he?'_

"Paul, I want to apologize," she began. "I really should have looked at both sides before making assumptions about you. And I'm sorry about Ursula. Even if she was an utter brat to me, I'm sorry all this happened to you."

Paul blinked in confusion, not sure how to take her apology. After awkwardly standing there for a moment, he cleared his throat. "So yeah, that's why I'm so bent on destroying him," he settle on.

Dawn nodded slowly in understanding. "I see. Still, thank you," she told him and she saw him lay back on his couch, preparing to sleep.

"Just get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be a big day," he replied in the dim room.

Sighing, she headed to the bathroom to prepare. Maybe her mom was right. Maybe they could see eye to eye.

* * *

"Hearthome City would like to welcome back all our loyal fans and fallen competitors to the final round of the fiftieth annual Hearthome City Tag Battle competition!"

As Enta welcomed the crowds that were pouring into the stadium, Dawn and Paul sat in the trainer's area off the side of the arena, both just waiting for the battle to begin.

"Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for! The final round! On the blue side of the field, we have the favorites going into this battle! Paul Shinji of Veilstone City, and Top Coordinator Dawn Berlitz of Twinleaf Town!"

The pair walked out onto the field, with Dawn waving to the crowd and Paul having his hands shoved in his pockets. As they took their spots on their side, Dawn spotted their opponents making their way out.

"And on the red side, please give it up for the underdogs! Top Coordinator Kenny Kengo of Twinleaf Town, and Morrison Masamune of Verdanturf Town in the Hoenn region!"

Kenny took his spot on the field, his standard green shirt and beige pants complimenting his dark red hair. He was tossing a Poké Ball up and down in his hand, and had a troubled look on his face.

Morrison, in contrast, wore a more traditional-inspired outfit, with an orange shirt, dark red pants, and simple sandals. He had a massive grin on his face.

Throwing a glance at Paul, Dawn saw his face had taken on his emotionless mask, ready for the coming battle.

'_Alright Dawn. This is it. Just you and Paul versus Kenny and Morrison. You can do this.'_

"Trainers, choose your Pokémon!" Enta shouted.

"Empoleon, let's go!" Kenny called, throwing out his starter and the final evolved form of Piplup.

"Metagross, crush them!" Morrison shouted as he called out his massive Iron Leg Pokémon.

"Electivire, standby for battle!" Paul called out as he unleashed one of his most powerful Pokémon.

"Piplup, spotlight!" Dawn finally said, releasing her loyal starter Pokémon, despite it's massive size disadvantage compared to the other three Pokémon on the field.

"Begin!"

Wasting no time, Kenny quickly called out "Empoleon, Flash Cannon!"

"Metagross, you use Flash Cannon too!" Morrison commanded right after.

"Protect!" Paul shouted, and just as the powerful white beams tore across the field towards Electivire and Piplup, a green field popped up, defending the two as the ground shook from the impact.

"Piplup, Hydro Pump!" Dawn commanded, and as soon as the Protect field fell, a torrent of water came shooting out towards Metagross, scoring a direct, if not very effective, hit on the Iron Leg Pokémon.

She heard Kenny growl from her side of the field. "Show that little pest a real Water-type attack! Hydro Cannon!"

Shooting a quick glance at Paul, Dawn saw him nod to her. "Piplup! Use Bide!" she shouted.

"Electivire, Light Screen!" Paul responded, and the powerful Hydro Cannon flew directly into the screen, weakening it as it passed through before striking Piplup dead on, driving him backwards but otherwise not affecting him.

"Metagross, cover Empoleon while he recharges! Use Bullet Punch!" Morrison commanded, and his Metagross flew into action, charging towards Electivire and Piplup while spinning on it's side, it's fists glowing orange. As it tore through the Light Screen, however, Electivire managed to dodge the attack and let the attack sail straight into Piplup, as planned.

"Nice hit!" Kenny shouted to Morrison, before he realized that Piplup had taken both attacks and was still standing.

Dawn allowed herself a grin. "Awesome Piplup! Now, let them have it!" she shouted, as her Penguin Pokémon unleashed his built up energy from Bide towards the still recharging Empoleon.

"Electivire. Thunder," Paul said simply, watching as his Thunderbolt Pokémon began charging up his electrical prowess and using it to hurl a powerful bolt of lightning towards Empoleon.

"Empoleon, get out of there!" Kenny shouted desperately, but uselessly as the two powerful attacks slam into the proud Emperor Pokémon, causing it to stagger backwards several steps, but didn't fall.

"Tougher than he looks," Paul mumbled out to Dawn's right.

"His Empoleon is his strongest Pokémon," she replied, quiet enough that their opponents wouldn't hear.

"We'll just have to crank up the heat," he retorted. "Electivire, Thunder Punch!"

"Piplup, Hydro Pump!"

"Empoleon, let's turn things back in our favor! Metal Claw!"

"Metagross, Iron Head!"

The battle continued for quite a while, with both sides managing to land devastating attacks, but neither managing to pull ahead of the other team.

"Paul," Dawn said, turning to face her partner. "We need to wrap this up soon. Piplup and Electivire can't go on much longer."

His attention focused on the battle, Paul only nodded, looking for their opening.

"Empoleon, let's end this! Hydro Cannon!" Kenny shouted.

"Metagross, Hammer Arm!" Morrison followed.

"Electivire, let Metagross get closer!" Paul shouted, and everyone in the area, even Dawn, looked at Paul as if he had lost his mind.

"Paul, if Metagross get's closer, Electivire will get destroyed!" she explained, but Paul just kept his eyes on the field.

As Metagross grew closer and closer, arms prepared to bring about a powerful Hammer Arm attack, Paul finally called out, "Now, grab it's legs!"

Electivire nodded and snaked it's tails around the Pokémon's iron legs, planting it's yellow paws and feet into the ground to slow and stop the Iron Leg Pokémon.

Paul then smirked. "Now, throw it into the Hydro Cannon!" he commanded, pointing at the attack Empoleon had just fired.

Nodding again, Electivire reached up with it's hands and grabbed Metagross's legs, and with a strained groan, managed to lift and hurl the Pokémon's front end into the path of the Hydro Cannon, slamming into the half-ton titan of a Pokémon and forcing it back away from it's trainer. Struggling to it's feet, Dawn felt a surge of excitement when the Pokémon finally dropped to the ground, fainted.

"Metagross is unable to battle!"

Hearing Kenny growl all the way from their side was music to Dawn's ears. Shooting a glance at Paul, she asked, "Now?"

He nodded. "Now." Looking back to the field, he shouted, "Electivire! Current Formation!"

"Piplup! Hydro Pump!"

"Thunder!"

As the two Pokémon took up position, with Poiplup standing in front of the towering Electivire, Piplup prepared and fired off a powerful stream of water, while Electivire put it's tails into the stream and began supercharging the attack with a staggering amount of electrical energy, all heading towards the immobile Empoleon.

Kenny's face fell as he watched his starter electrocuted before his very eyes, both of them powerless to stop it. He watched as Empoleon fell forward into the dirt, finally knocked out.

Glancing at Paul, Dawn excitedly threw her arms around his neck. "We did it!" she shouted, oblivious to how uncomfortable Paul looked at the moment.

Piplup fell backwards into a sitting position, looking up at the smirking face of Electivire. "Piplup, pip piplup," he said, thanking the Thunderbolt Pokémon for his help.

Electivire nodded. "Elect, electivire."

As their two trainers returned their Pokémon and headed towards the announcer's podium to receive their prizes from Enta, Dawn felt content. She had gotten back at Kenny and proved she was the stronger trainer with Paul, and she felt fine with leaving him to Ursula. The only thing still on her mind, though, was how Paul was taking this.

"Congratulations to Paul Shinji and Dawn Berlitz, this year's winners! You, along with all our other competitors this year have battled amazingly. To commemorate your victory, we hereby award each of you with a Soothe Bell!"

The pair both gracefully accepted their prize and Enta began with the closing ceremonies. Upon their completion, the pair finally left the arena at nearly seven at night, just after the sun had set.

"So, now that the event is over… what do you plan to do?" Dawn asked as the two walked back towards the Pokémon Center.

Paul sighed as he dug his hands into his pockets. "Probably go back to Veilstone City, continue training, strangle Reggie, then go to the Lily of the Valley Conference and see where I get," he explained. "You?"

Dawn thought for a moment. '_What _do _I want to do, now?'_ she wondered to herself.

"Well, I'll probably have to go back to work as a Pokémon Stylist. Not sure if I'll be able to handle it, though," she added, frowning slightly.

"What do you mean?" Paul asked curiously.

"Well, the last three days… I had forgotten what it was like to compete in a major competition like this again. And… I kinda want to again, you know? I realized how much I missed this," she explained.

"You plan to compete in the Grand Festival, then?" he asked.

She was silent for a moment. "Next year, I think. I'll talk to Paris and tell her I want to take a year off to compete again. Maybe I'll even pull a Nando, and take the League challenge while I'm at it," she replied.

Paul nodded, just as the pair arrived at the Pokémon Center.

"So, I'm guessing you're going to grab your pack and get going towards Veilstone?" Dawn asked, slightly saddened by Paul's impending departure, despite herself.

Paul looked east for a moment, towards his hometown, before looking back to her, his face unreadable, but Dawn thought he looked a bit uncomfortable. "Actually… I was planning to stay until morning… assuming your offer stands," he added, uncertainty.

Dawn smiled. "I think I can put up with you for _one_ more night," she replied playfully.

Paul rolled his eyes and huffed, but she swore she saw a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"So, I'm hungry," Dawn then told him. "Want to grab some dinner?" she asked.

Paul nodded. "Why not?"

* * *

"Electivire, finish this! Thunder!"

As the Thunderbolt Pokémon fired off the powerful Electric-type attack towards his opponent, Paul was pleased to see his opponent finally fall to the ground, knocked out.

"And Lucario is unable to battle! Which means Paul Shinji of Veilstone City is this year's Lily of the Valley Conference winner!"

Paul smiled as he walked up to Electivire. "Thank you," he told him as he returned the Thunderbolt Pokémon, bowing slightly to his opponent. '_I did it. I finally did it.'_

As he walked back towards the trainer's ready room, through the halls of the arena, he was ambushed by a certain blunette fan wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You did it, Paul! I'm so happy for you!" Dawn squealed as she clung to the mauve-haired champion.

Chuckling slightly*, he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, hugging her. "Thanks. It's still sinking in, honestly."

Pulling back with a massive grin, Dawn nodded. "I felt the same back when I won my first Festival. It's strange, isn't it?" she questioned.

He nodded as he wrapped an arm around her back, walking back towards the ready room to get his things.

"So, what're your plans now?" she asked as she walked with him.

"Well, I was thinking of trying a new region. I don't think I'm ready to take the Elite Four challenge quite yet. And I hear the Kalos region is pretty tough," he replied.

Dawn laughed lightly. "Funny, I was just about to suggest there. I hear a new Contest Circuit is starting up, and I was thinking about competing. It's ironic, actually."

"How so?" Paul asked.

"Back when I got you as a partner, I thought Arceus had cursed me. I never thought I'd ever see eye to eye with you. But I'm really thankful I was wrong."

Paul smiled. "Me too, Troublesome. Me too."

* * *

And there you have it. Overall, I'm fairly happy with it and would like yo hear opinions/feedback/comments/complaints/ect. As always, it's highly encouraged. Anyways, I'll be working on GoR and Celadon Job in the future, hopefully should have chapters for those up before month's end. Have a great evening and God Bless!


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